Issue 1, 2009
From the journal:

Journal of Environmental Monitoring

Evaluation of HEPA vacuum cleaning and dry steam cleaning in reducing levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and house dust mite allergens in carpets

Chang Ho Yu,a   Lih-Ming Yiin,bc   Zhi-Hua (Tina) Fana  and  George G. Rhoads*c  

* Corresponding authors

a Exposure Science Division, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

b Departemnt of Public Health, Tzu-Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan ROC

c School of Public Health – University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Room 128, 683 Hoes Lane West, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
E-mail: rhoads@umdnj.edu
Fax: +732-235-4814
Tel: +732-235-4353

Abstract

Dry steam cleaning, which has gained recent attention as an effective method to reduce house dust mite (HDM) allergen concentration and loading in carpets, was evaluated in this study for its efficacy in lowering levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as well as HDM allergens. Fifty urban homes with wall-to-wall carpets, mostly low-income and with known lead contamination, were studied in 2003 and 2004. Two carpet-cleaning interventions were compared: Repeated HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air filtered) vacuuming alone and repeated HEPA vacuuming supplemented with dry steam cleaning. Vacuum samples were collected to measure carpet loading of dust and contaminants immediately before and after cleaning. Paired comparisons were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the cleaning protocols in reducing the levels of PAHs and HDM allergens in carpets. The results indicated that both cleaning methods substantially reduced the loading of PAHs and HDM allergens as well as dust in carpets (p < 0.0001). The reductions in loading of dust (64.4%), PAHs (69.1%), and HDM allergens (85.5%), by dry steam cleaning plus repetitive HEPA vacuuming were larger than the reductions by regular HEPA vacuuming alone: dust (55.5%), PAHs (58.6%), and HDM allergens (80.8%), although the difference was statistically significant only for dust and PAHs. We conclude that intensive HEPA vacuum cleaning substantially reduced the loading of PAHs and HDM allergens in carpets in these urban homes and that dry steam cleaning added modestly to cleaning effectiveness.

Graphical abstract: Evaluation of HEPA vacuum cleaning and dry steam cleaning in reducing levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and house dust mite allergens in carpets

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B807821A
Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 May 2008
Accepted
18 Sep 2008
First published
06 Nov 2008

J. Environ. Monit., 2009,11, 205-211

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Evaluation of HEPA vacuum cleaning and dry steam cleaning in reducing levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and house dust mite allergens in carpets

C. H. Yu, L. Yiin, Z. (Tina) Fan and G. G. Rhoads, J. Environ. Monit., 2009, 11, 205 DOI: 10.1039/B807821A

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